Before the Storm
by WeAllHaveAnEscape
Summary: AU. It's 1813, and France is in the middle of the Napoleonic Wars. The Battle of Leipzig isn't far away, and Marius Pontmercy has been called up to fight. Éponine Thénardier is a nurse with a brother at the front, having begun her volunteer work on that same week. Eventual Marius/Éponine. Idea given by caligirlsd99.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Here it is! I've been pretty secretive about this one, so fingers crossed people like the idea. This was originally devised from a prompt sent for Imagine from caligirlsd99, so a huge thank you for the idea, and also to MissFiyerabaMeponine for some help! :) Please bear in mind I'm using the modern day English military fitness programme for this, which of course would most likely be different back then.**

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**Also, a lot of people who read my other fics will probably have noticed that I primarily use the musical's portrayal of Éponine instead of the book's. I haven't picked it up in a while, but I have tried to put more of a balance between the two portrayals of her in this (most notably in her speech patterns, she likely sounds more of a street girl in this than in my others) so any feedback appreciated, as with any historical details. Bit of a slow opening chapter, I'm afraid, but please persevere :)**

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_Bang. Shotgun. Blood. Falling. Running. Trenches. Bang. Shot. Fire. Boom. Dead._

Éponine awoke with a start.

She kept dreaming the same things, night after night. She fell asleep to the noise of the shotguns of the newest soldiers training, and awoke to the drill of the military bell. It was her routine, she was used to it. But it bothered her. All those innocent people, some just sixteen years old, would be marching off to their deaths at some point or another.

She would watch them during her lectures. She loved her work, but the lectures were a bit tedious. She knew it was because of the new volunteer nurses, there was a new bunch almost every day, but she wished not everybody had to attend, especially as half of the attendants knew everything covered already. It was at the point where she probably knew just as much about the military fitness building as she did about nursing.

Today, however, was the next lot of recruits. They'd begin the sixteen-week fitness programme that morning, which Éponine was eager to see. She liked watching people, making up backgrounds for them. Were they married? Engaged? A parent? Did they have siblings? A job? She was a hundred percent committed to her job, but listening to the bones of the hand for the third time that week could always be replaced with something else.

It also took her mind off of other things. Her older brother Gavroche was currently fighting at the front, he was just twenty, and she worried herself no end over his welfare. They wrote whenever possible, and he always said he was okay. But that didn't necessarily keep her reassured. He'd never say anything to worry her, no matter how desperate the situation. Sometimes that was more of a curse than a blessing.

Blinking, she snapped out of her chain of thought to watch the new arrivals lining up. Some were yawning, clearly not used to the early starts. One man on the end looked like he was going to fall over. The major general, Jean Lamarque, was a fearsome man, who didn't believe in pampering or letting things go. New recruits would be treated the same as experienced soldiers, apart from on their scheduled rest days. Overworked men were just as unhelpful as unfit ones, in his opinion.

They were being given their pep talk at that point. Her mind began to wonder to which of the young men had volunteered, and which had been called up. Volunteers were becoming less and less frequent as the battles went on, men wanting to stay with their families, trying to avoid the inevitable. She pitied them the most. Her own family didn't give a damn about her and Gavroche, but if they did, she knew she would be wanting to spend as much time with them as possible.

Whilst she'd been thinking about them, they'd already begun. The fitness programme for day one started with twenty minutes of combined walking and jogging, usually alternating two minutes of each. They weren't moving very fast, despite the jogging. Oh well. Plenty of time for speed.

"Look sharp, Thénardier!"

Éponine whipped her head back to the front. "Sorry, Matron.

"Well, whilst I think the answer is no, have you been paying attention at all during this?"

"Yes."

"Bones of the hand?"

"Carpal, metacarpal, carpometacarpal joint, hamate, radius, trapezoid, trapezium, scaphoid, capitate, pisiform, triquetal, lunate, ulna, with five phalanges, separated in to distal, middle, and proximal."

"Hmm. I'll be keeping an eye on you."

"Good to know."

"Don't backchat."

She sighed. Conforming to order was something she'd never been particularly good at. Rules, rules, rules. Bloody rules. Nevertheless, listening was probably a good idea, considering she doubted Matron would ask her a question she knew the next time. Like Lamarque, she was a fearsome woman, and she'd seen many a nurse in tears after a sharp scolding, her roommate no exception.

Before she knew it, two hours had passed, and she was sent off to do some sewing. Sewing. Honestly, she'd signed up for nursing, not to be a housemaid. True, she'd been there for a week, but surely the best way to gain experience would be to, oh, maybe actually do something to improve her skills?

Sighing, she flopped down at a bench with an army jacket. Whoever had sewn it clearly had no idea what they were doing, the hems were done wrong, the arm away almost detached and there was a serious lack of pockets. She checked the name tag. "M. Pontmercy" it said. Well, whoever this Monsieur Pontmercy was, she wasn't happy with him as she sat down to waste away two hours of her life she'd never get back.

Having finished the task to the best of her ability, she put the sewing in the appropriate basket and headed out to the nearest corridor. The schedules were pinned on the wall, and she could have jumped for joy at the sight of a free twenty minutes next to her name. Picking up a slightly brisker walk, she headed upstairs to the live-in quarters.

She'd be moving on to the front in sixteen weeks, with the new soldiers. At the moment, they were currently on the outskirts of Paris, in the middle of a woodland, in a large brick house. The owners had moved out, and given the place over to the military to use it for their own purposes. So they'd turned it in to a training ground, for both soldiers and nurses alike.

The nurses who did not live nearby (although Éponine did, she'd lied and said she lived in Calais, to avoid having to go home every night) would live there, their bedrooms in the attics. Two girls to a room, basic but comfortable. Two single beds, one by the door and one by the window (Éponine had claimed the window one), both with a small table beside it. A dresser in between, and a wardrobe on the far wall, with two candle holders on the walls and a hand-sewn rug beside a small bookshelf, on which about ten different textbooks were placed. She shared with Nancy, a small, shy girl of seventeen, who found it difficult to hold a conversation and was usually knitting something. Éponine herself was nineteen, tall but skinny, and would express her opinions no bother, more often than not landing her in trouble.

The inhabitants of the house would eat at a long bench down in what was once the staff dining room, next to the kitchen, nurses on one side and men on the other. The soldiers lived in full-time regardless of location, on the same floor as the nurses through a tightly locked door. There was a different bathroom for males and females at the end of the corridors holding their sleeping quarters.

She flew up the stairs, knowing she didn't have much time, and sprinted down to room twenty-two, hers. Running over to her bed, she slipped a hand under her pillow and took out a letter carefully hidden there. Running back down through the kitchens, hastily taking a biscuit offered by a kitchen maid, she headed out to the courtyard, sitting on an upturned crate and opening the envelope.

_My Dear Sister,_

_Things have been rather slow here lately. Travers and Miller were shot down last week, I feel awful for their families. Travers was engaged, his fiancée pregnant, and Miller already had three children. Times are tough, but we're coping._

_I'm fine, if a little cold - the nights seem to be getting more and more chilly, in my opinion anyway. I wonder when you'll have finished your training? I hope you won't find it too repetitive. I know nothing about nursing, so you'll have to tell me all about it when I next get some leave, which should be in about a month. You'll still be training then, correct? I'll make sure to stop by, stay at a pub in the nearest village and keep track of you. Send me your break times when the time grows closer, and I'll show up around then. You get Sunday afternoons off, right?_

_I finally got granted some new boots yesterday, the others were full of holes and no use whatsoever, so you can rest easy, no trench foot coming my way! Thank you for the socks too, I know how much you hate knitting (I'll assume Nancy helped you), but they're lovely. I wear them to bed as well as in the day to keep my feet warm!_

_Do let me know how you are. I still haven't heard from our dearest parents, though no surprises there. Sorry for the shortness of this letter, I'll write again soon, but I've got another patrol shift in ten minutes, which I need to be ready for._

_Lots of love, and best wishes,_

_Gavroche_

She smiled, biting her lip. She felt sorry for the men and their families, but hearing her brother was okay was always the best feeling. Folding his letter and placing in in the envelope once more, she stood up, almost colliding with somebody in front of her.

"Hey, watch it-"

"Sorry, didn't mean to-"

"Were you reading my letter?"

The man she'd bumped in to looked affronted. "Of course not. I just wondered if you had a light?"

He was quite tall, with sandy hair and brown eyes, a few freckles dotted about. He didn't look older than twenty, and was clearly new.

"I ain't a smoker."

"Right. Sorry."

"No problem. Shouldn't you be with the rest of the recruits?"

"I could say the same to you."

"Ten minutes free time."

"How coincidental, me too."

She rolled her eyes slightly, sitting back down and pocketing her letter.

"You got a friend on the front line?" the man asked, sitting next to her, but at a respectful distance. That made a change. Some of the soldiers seemed to sit practically on her, having had no female contact in a while, which made her uneasy. She simply ignored them however, trying to keep her temper.

"Brother."

"I see. I'm Marius, by the way. Marius Pontmercy."

"Oh, so it's you that ain't able to sew a shirt together then."

"I'm sorry?"

"Your shirt. I 'ad to re-sew it earlier. The hems were all wrong and a sleeve was falling off. And I'm Éponine. Éponine Thénardier."

"Nice to meet you. Sorry about the shirt. Never learned to sew."

"Learn then, that was two hours of my life I'm never gettin' back."

"It took you two hours?"

"Never said I was a seamstress."

"True."

They fell in to silence, Éponine still with a finger dancing over the letter in her pocket. "Any particular reason you're still here?" she asked.

"Nope. Just enjoying the company."

She sighed. "Got a pen?"

"Nope."

"Should've known. So how are you liking your first day?"

"It's interesting. I've got the fitness level of half a caterpillar, so challenging."

"What are you even doing? I know the alternate walking and jogging thing, but what else?"

"Tricep dips, press-ups, dorsal raises and sit ups."

"Don't sound too bad to me."

"I guess it gets tougher."

"Hmm. Well, I'm sorry to cut your company short, but I must be off now."

"See you again maybe?"

She turned around. "If you learn to sew properly. I ain't pricking my fingers again re-doing all your work, mister."

"Deal."

She headed back upstairs, replaced the letter in a small, locked box she kept under her bed, and went back downstairs to continue with her work, slightly bemused at the conversation she'd just had, and oddly looking forwards to seeing the young soldier again.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Well, looks like people are liking this so far :) Hope you enjoy! Also, the grammar mistakes in Éponine's letter were intentional, being self taught I imagine these things may not have crossed her mind, given that I doubt she had much help or material to work with. But hey. **

**And as a quick warning; things won't always be such plain sailing for these two ;)**

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It was another week before Éponine and Marius saw each other again.

His training schedule had become more rigorous, and she had gone up a rank in her nursing, leaning how to properly sew up and bandage heavy wounds, and set bone fractures as well. It was a fascinating topic for her, and one she was sure would come in handy even when these wars were over.

Her first class had gone successfully. One soldier had volunteered to be practiced on once everyone was confident enough, as he'd been sent back from training with a nasty arm wound. Éponine had volunteered almost immediately, stitching and binding as instructed. She'd almost taken someone's eye out spinning around sharply with a needle in hand, but at least it hadn't been the patient.

Marius, meanwhile, was finding his training schedule had definitely become more difficult. Running for longer, more tricep dips and dorsal raises, sit ups and press ups, all sorts. He'd never been a particularly active boy, preferring to stay at home to attend to his studies instead. But now? Now intelligence didn't matter. Logic and sharp senses did. As did fitness.

Luckily they had 'rest days' in between fitness raising, which gave him the opportunity to get to know the other men in his barracks. There was Enjolras, who fought for France and nothing else. Fiercely political and always had an opinion about something. Grantaire, a cynical soul who loved his beer. Jehan, the witty romantic. Joly, who worked in medical, and was in a relationship with Bossuet and a dancer by the name of Musichetta, who Marius had never met. Courfeyrac and Combeferre, both loved a laugh and got along well. Bahorel, who Marius knew little about. Bossuet, the clumsiest of the group, also with both Joly and Musichetta. They all seemed to get along alright, things could have been a lot worse.

He was looking forwards to seeing Éponine once more - there seemed more to her than met the eye, and he was curious. Because of her, he always kept a pen with him now, should she need one if he were to see her. He'd caught a glimpse of her, rushing by with a stack of bandages, but that was all.

Éponine, unbeknown to Marius, was watching for him too. She hadn't seen him yet, as their breaks rarely coincided, but was keeping an eye out. She still hadn't written back to Gavroche, which was beginning to worry her. Would he think she'd forgotten? Who knew.

Pocketing some paper and an envelope, she checked that she was definitely free, and walked out to the courtyard, sitting on the same crate she had been when she'd first met Marius. She took out Gavroche's letter and re-read it, wondering what to say in reply. She'd never been fantastic with words, having taught herself to read and write instead of being properly schooled, so writing letters sometimes proved a challenge.

"Room for two?"

She looked up to see none other than Marius, who was offering a smile. She returned it, shuffling to the side of the crate as he settled himself next to her. "How've you been doing? Lookin' pretty tough from what I can tell" Éponine said, turning herself so she could face him. He shrugged.

"It's tough, but not bad, you've clearly got your work cut out as well."

"We do. Got a pen?"

"Actually, yes."

"Didn't see that coming" Éponine replied, taking the pen he offered and gesturing for him to turn around, which he did, confused. His confusion was solved, however, when she pressed the paper against his back and used him to lean on instead of a table. The gentle scratching of pen across paper was all that could be heard for a good ten minutes, though the silence was not an uncomfortable one.

_My Dear Gavroche,_

_I'm very glad to hear your okay, though I'm sorry to here about Travers and Miller. I hope you are all coping, though it must have been a fright._

_I'm not doing to badly, learned how to sew up and bandage open wounds, and set fraktures..._

That didn't look right.

_Fracteres..._

Neither did that.

Scratching out the words, she sighed.

"Marius?"

"Yes?"

"How do you spell fractures?"

"F-r-a-c-t-u-r-e-s."

"Thanks."

Pen returned to paper once more.

_Fractures. I've learned how to set fractures so they heal properly now. Matron actually didn't yell at me, which is an improvement. I've made another friend too, a soldier, Marius - don't worry, he's not like that. Just a friend, he hasn't tried anything and I doubt he will. You'd like him, I'm sure._

_I'm glad you liked my socks too. They took ages to nit, and yes, Nancy helped. I made myself a pair too. It's quite cold here to, so I wear them to bed, and under my boots during the day._

_I hope you're doing well, and that I'll see you soon,_

_Lots of love,_

_Éponine_

She placed the pen cap back on the pen, and let the ink dry, handing the pen back to Marius, who pocketed it. Once she was sure her words had dried, she folded the letter and placed it in the envelope, which she had already addressed. Pocketing the paper, she smiled up at him. "Thanks."

"Any time."

"I think I'd best be off then. Which reminds me, you learned to sew yet?"

Marius chuckled. "Not yet, but I will, I promise."

"Good" Éponine replied, as she got up to leave.

"Oh, and Éponine?" Marius asked as she turned to go, sounding a bit nervous.

"Mm?"

"I-well...I wondered if maybe you'd like to accompany me to a café one day? As friends, I mean. There's a new one just opened that I'd rather like to try...only if you want to of course, you don't have to, I just-"

"I'd like that."

"You...you would?"

"I would."

He grinned then, properly grinned. "Okay. Meet me here tomorrow at four?"

"Will do. See you then, Marius."

"And you, 'Ponine."

She flashed him one last smile before turning to go, clutching her letter to her stomach and still feeling slightly bewildered at the conversation she'd just had. She'd never been the type of girl to consider a close friendship before, especially with her upbringing, but for some reason she was actually looking forwards to this. Whilst she knew she was thinking far in to the future, after all, they may go to the café and never speak again, she couldn't help it. She'd always been one for forward thinking. Though she hadn't exactly envisaged herself stepping out with a soldier a week after starting her training, friends or not.

Marius was having a similar thought process. He liked Éponine, she was curious but likeable, and even if nothing came of it they'd still have had a nice time. Besides, she seemed loyal, he'd seen and heard her sticking up for her roommate, Nancy, over dinner. Plus he was a little worried about her - he'd noticed her voice drop when she spoke of Gavroche, and it was clear she was fretting. Perhaps an afternoon out would do her some good? A distraction of sorts?

Getting back to his barrack, he picked up a book borrowed from Bossuet and retired to his bunk, losing himself in the pages, occasionally picturing Éponine as one of the main characters. Éponine had sprinted to the post office to buy a stamp and send her letter, before returning to her work and wondering how the next day would go.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Well, so much for getting back to regular updates. I guess they'll just happen when they happen for now, I hope you all continue to read regardless of my lack of schedule. A bit of a Downton Abbey-esque moment here, no idea if any of you actually watch it but if you do hopefully it'll bring up memories of when the show was actually reasonably happy XD**

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"What the hell did you do that for, you stupid girl?!"

"I've said I'm sorry, what more do you want?!"

"Sorry isn't good enough this time!"

"Clearly!"

Éponine felt like screaming. She'd dropped a tray of sterilised water, and not only had that gone, but the majority of the glass containers had smashed to pieces, and as Matron was continuously reminding her, materials were scarce with the War going on.

"Get upstairs, I don't want to see you again today."

"Can I come down for dinner?"

"No, you can't. Foolish girl."

"So you're gonna starve me? Oh fabulous. Lets see how tha' works out."

"And stop being so rude, now get out of my sight!"

Éponine turned on her heel before she slapped the woman across the face. Better to skip a meal than be dismissed entirely. But what about Marius? She'd agreed to go out to an early dinner with him, she couldn't just abandon him. But where was he?

Nipping downstairs to where the schedules were pinned up, she looked for Marius'. He was on a break luckily, so her first thought would be the courtyard. Breaking in to a run and being careful to avoid being seen, she headed out the back door and around the side of the building, before climbing over a wall and landing in her destination. Sure enough, Marius was sat on a crate, looking in to the distance.

"Marius!"

"Éponine? I thought we weren't meeting until this afternoon?"

"That's what I came to talk 'bout."

"If you don't want to anymore it's fine. I just..."

She cut him off. "No, I want to, but I can't."

"Why not? What's happened?"

"Dropped a tray of sterilised water and broke about twenty of the containers. Solitary confinement for the rest of today so I can't go out of my room at all. I would've thought they could come up with a better punishment than sendin' me to my room like a ten year old, but there you go."

"Oh, okay. Not your fault. Maybe another time?"

She nodded, biting her lip. Reaching out, she hesitantly placed her hand on top of his. "I did want to go with you, just so you know. I really did."

He smiled, blushing a bit. "Me too. But never mind. I suppose I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Tomorrow" she replied, smiling slightly before turning and scaling the wall again, climbing over it with ease as she headed upstairs.

Five hours had passed, and Éponine was realising why this was considered a punishment.

She was absolutely bored out of her skull. She hadn't any books that weren't medical textbooks, and there wasn't anything else to do. If she went to sleep, she wouldn't sleep that night and therefore would be exhausted the next day. Plus she was hungry, her body having adjusted to eating regularly by that point. Nancy didn't dare bring her anything in case she got caught, which was understandable.

Though it didn't exactly help Éponine.

The clock ticked by slower than ever, each second lasting a minute, each minute an hour and each hour practically a millennium. Her stomach was making some rather unsavoury growls, and it was only then she realised she'd skipped breakfast too so that she could head in to the village before work started. Perhaps she wouldn't be in this situation if she hadn't shouted back, but Matron had started yelling a her, and she couldn't very well just stand idly by now, could she?

A knock on the door brought her out of her thought train. "Who is it?" she called hesitantly, wondering if her hunger was adding her brain.

"It's me."

"Who's 'me'?"

"Me, Marius."

"What in Gods name are you doing here? Matron'll have a fit if she finds you alone in the women's bedroom corridor!"

"Just open the door, please."

Praying nobody would see, she padded over to the door, opening it a crack. When she saw it was indeed Marius, she opened it fully, her eyes widening at what she saw.

He was standing there with a tray of food.

"Thought you might be hungry. You didn't come down to dinner, and you know the cook has a soft spot for you, she set something aside."

Éponine wasn't sure what to say. "Th-thank you" she said, smiling slightly as she took the tray from him. He'd even put a couple of flowers in a glass, which made her smile more. "Can you stay, or...?"

"For a few minutes, if you want."

"That'd be nice. It's lonely up here."

She closed the door behind him and locked it, not because she had any bad intentions but so that Marius would have time to hide should somebody come in. She settled herself on her bed again, and he bought up the chair to sit at the foot of it as she dug in, placing the flowers on her bedside table.

As she devoured the toast, he watched her in the most unobtrusive way possible. She was skinny, too skinny, clearly through lack of food. It was obvious that she came from a bad background, outlines of bruises on her collar bone, ankle and on one arm. She had a scar on her shoulder, which her nightgown wasn't covering, and he didn't want to know where any of these injuries came from. Funny how two people from completely different worlds, who according to society shouldn't even know of the other's existence, had so easily crossed paths and become friends. Well, he'd consider Éponine a friend at any rate, and could only hope she'd say the same.

She'd finished her meal already, clearly having been starving. "Thanks, I really needed that."

"You've finished already?"

Éponine shrugged. "Fast eater."

"Well, I need to go now or people will get suspicious."

Her face fell slightly, but she nodded. "Okay. Well, thank you for coming."

"That's alright. Oh, I bought you something else too."

"Oh?"

He reached in to his pocket and pulled out a small book. "Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens. The wording's a bit complicated but it's a very good story. Nancy reminds me of you a little bit in her character."

She took the book gratefully. "I've heard of this. Never read it though. When do you want it back?"

"Keep it, I've read it loads."

"I don't need charity. I'll pay you for it if you want."

This time it was Marius who placed his hand on top of hers. "I want you to have it, not because I want to make myself look like a saint, and not because I want to make you feel weak, but because it's something I've enjoyed, and now you can enjoy it too."

She smiled, this time taking the book. "Alright. Thank you."

"Any time, 'Ponine."

Without thinking, Marius leaned forwards and kissed her forehead gently. "I'll see you around" he told her, before smiling and making his way back down, leaving Éponine to slowly raise a hand to her forehead, before rolling her eyes with a smile and settling down to begin the book.


End file.
